Spring Festival
Traditional Custom sweep the dust "The twelfth lunar month twenty-four, dust and sweep the house" according to the ‘Lv Shi Chun Qiu’ records a Chinese history book. China has the tradition of sweeping the dust since the era of Yao and Shun. The meaning of sweeping the dust is to get all the bad luck away. When spring festival comes, each family need to clean the environment, wash the equipment, change the bedding and curtains. Staying-up Staying-up is the most important tradition and appeared a long time ago. The first record is in Jin Zhou's "Feng Shi Zhi": New Year's Eve, each phase and presented, known as "fed years"; especially to invite, known as "farewell years"; old and young gather and drink, celebration complete, known as the "divided old"; Pay a New Year call In the early Song Dynasty, there were cards to pay a new year call between royal family called "calling card" or "name sticker". It cuts the letter paper into plum two inches wide and three inches long and write your name and address. In the modern society people always call each other or go visit others during spring festival to show their bless. The Spring Festival couplets Spring Festival couplets also called door couplets, spring stickers, poetic couplet, couplet, Taofu and so on. The style of the couplet is neatly, dual, concise, exquisite depict to sketch the background of that time, to express good wishes. It is China's unique form of literature. Each Spring Festival, no matter in the city or the countryside, every family will have couplets on the door. Antithetical couplet The couplet affixed to the door in order to increase the festive atmosphere. This custom started from Song Dynasty and became popular in the Ming Dynasty. When time went to the Qing Dynasty, the ideological and artistic level has been greatly improved. Liang Zhangju wrote in “kan lian cong hua” threshold association clump of couplets and characteristics of all kinds of work are discussed. There are many variety of new year, according to the use of premises, can be divided into the center door, box, tea, the spring strip, Dou Fang and so on “Door" affixed to the door at the upper end of the central part; "frame" affixed to the left and right two door; "tea" affixed to the door Mei bar; "spring" according to different content, pasted on the corresponding place; "catty" is also called "the door leaf", as Affirmative diamond, post more in furniture. Firecrackers Firecrackers can create a festive and lively atmosphere as the holiday entertainment activity. It can give people happiness and good luck. When the time passes, firecrackers used more widely, more and more varieties, every major holiday and wedding celebrations, and marriage, building opening, etc., should be set off firecrackers to celebrate, good luck. Hunan, Liuyang, Guangdong Foshan and Dong Yao, Jiangxi, Yichun and Pingxiang Zhejiang Wenzhou area is a famous town of fireworks and firecrackers, the production of color, high quality, not only sell well in the whole country, but also exported to the world. Traditional Spring Festival Cuisine In Chinese new year, some foods are very popular. Some of them may came from national culture, and some others may came from some legend story. Also, some foods are spread for thousand years, and some other may just popular from modern times. The common point is that they are all very popular in Chinese new year. Most of Chinese know them and eat them in Spring Festival. Laba congee The eighth day of the twelfth lunar month is celebrated as the Buddha enlightened day by Buddhist community. The temple monks and nuns often put eight kinds of food, which are glutinous rice, sesame, Yi Ren, Gui Yuan, dates, mushrooms, lotus seeds and etc, together to cook "rice pudding", and invite forks around the mountain to have the Communion together. They also send it as gifts to the young and old nearly to show Buddha worship. Subsequently the tradition become custom in which the folks cook rice pudding (called rice porridge) to eat in order to get rid of illness. In Song Dynasty, people cook rice porridge with "walnuts, pine nuts, milk mushroom, persimmon, chestnut, and etc" with rice (see "Tales of the Old"). In Ming and Qing Dynasties, eating rice porridge becomes popular. It is not necessary to gather all eight kinds of food. People can cook it with four or five kinds and can also cook it with more than ten kinds. In some places, it is cooked with rice, brown sugar and eighteen species of dried fruit, and beans. That is really grand. Cooked with lotus seeds, ginkgo, peanuts, dates, and pine nuts, and together with ginger, gui and other spices, the rice porridge can warm hand, foot, and nourish the body. Rice porridge made with cowpea, lilies, mushrooms, tofu, Arrowhead, and etc, is called “fine rice porridge”. Well ordinary people eat “raw rice porridge” mixed with vegetables, soybeans, beans, tofu, carrots, and water chestnuts. In some northern region of China, there are no or litter rice produced. Thus people there eat noodle porridge instead of rice porridge. It will be prepared the day before the eighth in the twelfth lunar month with small pieces made by a variety of fruits and vegetables, and will be eaten by the whole family in the next morning. In some mountain area where corn is produced, the corn will be used instead of rice to make such food, which will be called “corn porridge” then. It is an agricultural custom to eat porridge meal in such day. People can use whatever food found in home, such as soybeans, mung beans, cowpea, pea, egg, potato, carrot, and etc, as well as wheat flour, corn flour, sorghum flour, barley flour, and etc. Every kind of them can be put a little in the pot to make the porridge, which is sweet and delicious, and can be remember for a long time. People often say that eating whole looks full. The twelfth lunar month means a year is about to end. So people must eat all kinds of grains and vegetables in order to have a comprehensive nutrition. This is action to pray for human well-being and family thriving! People also say that eating whole collects full. Over the twelfth lunar month, a new year is about to come. Every kinds of grain in rice porridge will be eaten, and it means people treasure everything growing from the land. It is a good wish that all crops will grow well in the coming new year. And people will get rich. Dumplings When the Chinese New Year is mentioned, many Chinese will think about dumplings(饺子，jiaozi). Dumplings are always essential in New Year dinner table. Especially in northern China, dumpling making and dumplings eating are an important activity in celebrating New Year's Eve in most families. At New Year's Eve, the most important activity for the whole family is to make dumplings together. According to histories documents, tradition of eating dumplings in Spring Festival appears no later than the Ming Dynasty. The tradition is even popular and fixed in the Qing Dynasty(1644~1911)4. This ancient Chinese tradition has a relationship with timing method, in which the system of twelve Earthly Branches is used to record time every day. If one day is divided into twelve parts, the beginning part at midnight will be called “Zi” time, which is equivalent to the time from 11 pm to 1 am next day. So at the end of a year, New Year's Eve is only the replacement of a day, but also the replacement of an old year. Dumpling also called Jiaozi in China, which means alternation of “Zi” time. Chinese people care about boundaries very much, especially at New Year’s Eve, so at this time, Celebration will be made to pray for good luck in the coming year. However, eating dumplings is just such kind of pray with full of rich cultural meaning. Thus Chinese people slowly formed the tradition of eating dumplings in the Spring Festival, in New Year’s Eve, and in “Jiao Zi”. For Chinese people who treasure affection in family, in New Year's Eve, with the snow outside the window, and the warmth inside, and steaming vapor in pot, all the thoughts and wishes are all wrapped into the thin dumpling skin! Red flames and boiling water cook the feel and the joy, along with the New Year's firecrackers. Filled dumplings are also filled of a better expectations for the coming year. Spring roll Spring Rolls(春卷，chunjuan), which is called “Chunbing” in Chinese, should be eaten in the beginning of spring according to an ancient Chinese tradition. In the Jin Dynasty(1115~1234)1, there was already "plate of five Chinese eddos", "spring plate", in which Spring Rolls would be placed together with vegetables. In the Tang(618~907)2 and the Song Dynasties(960~1279), the tradition of eating Chunbings in spring was spread, and emperor gave Chunbings to ministers as gifts. At that time, the spring plate is extremely exquisite. "Green thread and red silk, golden chicken and jade swallow, sophisticated, 10 thousand wens (unit of money in ancient China) for each plate." Folk also treasured the Spring Rolls as gifts to each other. The tradition of eating Chunbings also affected brother nations. When following Genghis Khan to conquer the western regions, Yelv Chulv ordered the chef to cook the spring plate, and made poetry. Nowadays, the shape and eating time of Chunbing are developed differently in different region. It can be cooked or steamed. It can be as big as a fan, or as small as an eredivisie. Popular Foods In Different Centuries LiTaoyong (talk) 03:25, October 30, 2014 (UTC) The legend of Spring Festival Ao nian shou sui（ Chinese: 熬年守岁 ） Introduction: It is the best-known story. Actually, the story about the monster nian is the nearest story approached to the god. Maybe it was unlikely to happen, but most Chinese people still believe it, celebrate it and this makes the Spring Festival famous all over the world. General story description: According to the legends, there was a monster called “nian.” It was really ferocity and everyone was afraid of it. It had tentacle on its head and was very ferocity. Nian lives in the deep sea. It landed every year and catch people or livestock. Because of that, every time the day of the New Year, people went in to the curves and then avoid damage. One year an old beggar came to a small village which located under the tai mountain. At that time villagers were busing move. One elder lady gave him some food, and suggested that he went to the curve with them. The old beggar smiles and said:” if you let me live in your house, I will drive nian away.” When the elder lady found that she could not let him go, she went away. At the mid night, nian came into the village. However it found that the situation was different: her house was covered with red paper, and the light shinned inside the house. Also, the sound of “bang” appeared, the old beggar who dressed red clothes came out. “Nian” was scared and ran away. After that day, villagers came back and was amazed to see the old beggar was fine. Originally, “nian” was scared of red. Then it became a habit to paste the antithetical couple, and set up firecracker to drive away that monster. Then it becomes a sample of Spring Festival. When and where: Ancient China already have the habit to pass New Year, but is not called the Spring Festival at that time. The Spring Festival meant the 24 solar terms of "spring" during the whole of the northern and southern dynasties. It is said that the time when lunar New Year officially named as the Spring Festival is after the xinhai revolution. Because at that time the government needed to switch to the Gregorian calendar, in order to distinguish between “nongli” and “yangli”, so name of first lunar month changed to "Spring Festival". Only at that situation, this legend became the most popular story from the north of China and influenced the habit a lot. The influences； The last day of the old year people didn't sleep at night, staying up lately to welcome the arrival of the New Year customs, stay up late at night for the coming New Year customs, also called shou sui New Year's eve. People lit candles or oil lamps, vigil in the whole night. That means a symbol that all evil blast epidemic ran out, looking forward to the New Year auspicious symbol. This custom has been spread so far to now. Wan nian Introduction: This story is not so famous, but the realistic is the highest. Most people believe this legend is the truth about how Spring Festival comes. The story about wan nian stands for the culture and history of China at that time. General story description: According to legend, in ancient times, there was a youth named wan nian. He found out that the way to measure the season was mess and not clear. However, he could not find the way to solve that until one day he was cutting up the tree, he noticed the movement of the shadow under the tree. Then he designed a shadow measurement meter days regarding instrument which determine the time of the day time. He began to make a clepsydra, five layer to calculate time. Over time, he found that every three hundred and sixty days, and the four seasons is a rebirth, the length of days changed again. The emperor at that time called ZuYi, also felt upset for situation of unpredictable weather. As soon as he knew wan nian and his discover, he felt happy and called wan nian in to build an architecture to measure the time. After the building complete, the emperor give that building a name “Spring festival”. Then people celebrated the New Year to memorize wan nian. When and where: In the early years of the western zhou dynasty, celebrating the harvest and the custom of ancestor worship activities became a habbit. In the beginning of the western han dynasty (104 BC), in first year, emperor accepted si ma qian and others’ suggest stipulated in a summer Meng Chun (day of the first lunar month) as the beginning of the month, in the first day of the year, the first lunar month is the New Year's day .Later dynasties mostly used a summer. This legend was mostly believed in the south of China. Influence: To commemorate the wan nian’s merits, the way measuring time was will calendar named "calendar” Later, people hang up “the birthday girl figure” during Chinese New Year, is said to be in memory of the venerable wan nian. References： 124 YangJiang, 11:31 3/14/2007 Xiaozhang zhe, 20:19 6/6/2006 The Process of Spending Spring Festival The process of spending spring festival is the two-week after the spring festival, there have a lot of tradition things people should do, in ancient time every day in this two-week have different tradition things to do. During this two-week people use the name in lunar calendar, it’s like the first day of the lunar year through to the fifteenth day of the first month of lunar year. The fifteenth day is not the last day of the spring festival it’s also Chinese Lantern Festival. For the modern traditions, people do not really spend over two weeks for spring festival, there are few important days people choose to do the traditions things. There are the New Year’s Eve, the first day and the last day of the spring festival. The second day and the fifth day are also important because these two days people from north and south of China offer a sacrifice to the god of the wealth. Preliminary Eve Preliminary Eve is one week before the spring festival, after Preliminary Eve people start to welcome the New Year, in ancient time Chinese believe the kitchen god, and so during this day people offer a sacrifice to kitchen god to wish god protect their family in new year. Today many young people don’t believe the kitchen god but in some city still have some people offer a sacrifice to kitchen god, but not for every family it’s like a perform to show the tradition also give people a chance to celebrate together. In Preliminary Eve people write spring festival scrolls, these scrolls all have some sentences about blessing and lucky. People put these New Year scrolls on their front door to wish they would be lucky on next New Year. The next week after the Preliminary Eve people start thorough cleanup, people think new year every thing will be clean and new, the other reason is dust in Chinese speak sound like old, people clean the dust also mean people say goodbye to the old thing and in new year everything will be new. New year’s Eve New year’s Eve is the last night of a year it’s one of the main day in spring festival. This day is very important for every Chinese work in different city they all choose come back home before this day, in New year’s Eve family reunion is important than everything. The New Year’s Eve dinner also called family reunion dinner, every family site together to have dinner, in ancient time people eat the best things they can get during this dinner, now every dish has lucky mean. During this night, people stay up late or all night, this tradition is about people wish their parents or the old in their family being longevity. After the twelve in the new year’s eve, the Lunar New Year’s Day is coming people do the fire work at that time and elder will give lucky money to every young children to wish young children have good luck in next new year. For the modern tradition, every family after reunion dinner they will sit together watch the Spring Festival Gala, there have many traditional show on it but today not every Chinese like watch it but ten years ago or early it’s every Chinese family’s first choice during the New year’s Eve. The first day of lunar year The first day also called the New Year’s Day, it’s the beginning of the year and also is the beginning of the spring. In this day every family do the firework to celebrate the New Year’s coming and wish every thing will be better in the New Year. Young people will wish the old a Happy New Year. People also drink a kind of Chinese medicinal liquor called the TuSu, in ancient time old people drink with young people they always drink first to show they are honored, people drink TuSu every year, it’s mean every time you drink TuSu it’s new year coming people get elder, the ancient Chinese they wish the old being long life they let the old be the last one drink when they are drink TuSu together. The other important tradition is by first day people didn’t through any thing out of their house because the ancient Chinese believe when they clean their house it’s also clean the lucky for the New Year. For today people still do the firework and do not clean any thing on the first day, but for the TuSu not too much people drink it may be it’s hard to get. The second day During this day every woman gets married they will back to see her parents and have lunch together. For the north of China, people offer a sacrifice to the god of the wealth. The god of the wealth is one of the most famous gods in China, people do the firework to welcome the god to wish next year they will have good luck on money and wish their business being better and get rich. Spring Festival oversea Spring Festival refers to the Chinese traditional culture in the lunar New Year. In the history of China, Spring Festival was the most famous festival and has an important historical position and is one of the oldest festivals in Chinese history. In ancient times specifically defines spring as beginning on Spring Festival. It also regarded as the beginning of the year, and the start the first lunar month. The Spring Festival always ends in the half of the first lunar New Year. The Spring Festival is the happy tradition of the Chinese nation, contain the wisdom and the crystallization of the Chinese national culture, embodies the Chinese people's pursuit of life and emotional sustenance. Passing on the Chinese social ethics. So, people must vigorously to carry forward the good traditional culture of the Spring Festival by condensation, renewing, blessing, reunion theme of peace and prosperity Chinese lunar year in the United States, American friends as long as with familiar Chinese-American or meet at overseas Chinese living in the United States for many years, the first sentence is "a happy Spring Festival!" At the same time, giving New Year card and congratulations to the Spring Festival. People dance street dance, dragon dance, lion dance, at night, firework, from the flowery glorious, streets appear from time to time to celebrate the Spring Festival, is really busy. On New Year's evening the whole family to eat meal together, together after dinner livelily, wait for the arrival of the day. On the first day is a statutory public holidays, people wear new clothes, relatives live points around the relatives and friends, and spend the holiday together, to celebrate the New Year, mean the everything in the next year is good. For the students which study outside, students would buy a lot of vegetables and meat, reunited with his good friend together, talk about the past year and look forward to the future together. First of all must have the Chinese New Year atmosphere, decorating their environment around, will let you indulge in it. But the United States is a western culture as the main body of the world, so, build the atmosphere of the Chinese New Year, only by overseas Chinese to create, use form infection of Chinese and western people. For many years, the local Chinese New Year party, such as the annual CCTV Spring Festival gala, will do. In addition to together, there is a tacit purposes, many Chinese have no chance to show in the mainstream American society, in Chinese circles, can count in the stage of their talent. Talent in Chinese, of course, sometimes in order to show, from absorbs the actor, also a competition. In order to let everyone have an opportunity to perform, and let the organizers surge that a small Chinese community, do not do a spectacle, unexpectedly come up with a few drama out of competition at the same time. See the spectacle may not be a bad thing, however, had a ticket money, may spend two or three times, the Chinese around on these, you are not famous, who will? In foreign countries, and staff performance, almost all of them are compulsory offer, however, organized a program of basic fee, rates, etc., such as transportation, theater on admission is not enough money. How to do? It is a matter of sponsors. In a small community, and the size of the Chinese businessmen, originally only need to donate a sponsored advertising spending, all of a sudden become a few times. For the audience, originally can concentrate on to enjoy a high-quality goods, has to be pulled out a few to repeat. Wait until the next day, however, have a look at the local Chinese news tracking, content report must not only flowers, and it about to break out. So overseas Chinese celebrate New Year's goal is not reached? Especially the compatriots from mainland China, the most can not lack a spectacle, is in the overseas Chinese television, rob to see the previous domestic have live broadcast of CCTV Spring Festival gala. In recent years, don't know is leaving ZuGuoYuan, factors of cultural distance was pulled away, or the domestic program itself, after watching the show, the overseas Chinese more and more disappointed. Still, show to see, like wish years wine, missed no flavor. There used to be a Chinese only in China around the city parade floats team, and now, as the Chinese in a small town in the growing, we no longer need to go to China town, you can attend or watch the parade at home. The Chinese community, carrying elegantly own logo, bring together, less serious, very interesting. In China is an ornament in the United States, the new moon on the morning, the U.S. media have mentioned, there are introduced. However, the United States is not because it is the Spring Festival, the Chinese have a holiday for you. In the west, the biggest holiday is Christmas, in China, the status of the position of the Spring Festival and the western Christmas day is the same. Because the New Year is the beginning of a New Year, representing the unpleasant trouble in the past year after the Spring Festival will be forgotten, start a new life a year. Family and friends with the other's wishes and hope, eat family reunion dinner together brought gifts. The Chinese New Year abroad, I'll buy local Chinatown Chinese New Year food, when the Chinatown in full of the joys of New Year atmosphere, everyone took the gifts and food. GMail References Category:Legends